The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems and more particularly to factory installed HTML to automatically identify a build-to-order customer when connecting to a web site.
When an off-the-shelf computer system is purchased, the customer may eventually need to have the system serviced, or may wish to modify and/or enhance the system. In that event, the customer must be sure that system compatible service and/or enhancements are provided. This can be accomplished by identifying the customer""s system by model number.
More recently, customers have been purchasing custom created systems as opposed to an off-the-shelf system. This can complicate service and modification of the system. Customers would have to know specifically what the make-up of their custom-built system is, as would the service technician or the vendor of the original system. This can be checked by providing the vendor or service technician with identifying information for the computer, such as a serial or other identification number or the name of the company that purchased the computer, so that the original purchase order or specifications can be referenced to know and understand all the custom features of a particular system.
For example, a customer may call the vendor and request a new or additional part or a replacement part for a custom built system. The vendor will need to reference the original system in order to advise the customer and provide compatible equipment. This is accomplished by the vendor requesting that the customer provide the serial number or other identification number so that the original system may be reviewed and compatible components can be provided. This requires that the customer know or be able to locate the serial number and that the vendor be able to locate sales records and specification data relating to the customer specific system.
After a customer purchases a computer system, he or she may also be able to access the vendor again on the worldwide web to inquire about service and or further modifications and enhancements available for the customer specific system. This scenario still requires some form of, or exercise in, identifying the original system to avoid substituting or adding parts or enhancements that are not compatible with the original system. An example of a web page 100 for providing such identifying information to the vendor via the worldwide web is shown FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, using the web page 100 a customer enters either a system service tag or express service code in a field 102 and then selects a button 104 labeled xe2x80x9cSubmitxe2x80x9d to submit the information to the vendor.
Therefore, what is needed is a means for automatically identifying build-to-order customers when they connect back to a vendor via the worldwide web. No known system combines the task of connecting to the vendor and automatically providing identifying information.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides browser software loaded on a customer""s system during a factory pre-install process that includes the customer""s identification number in a universal resource locator pre-installed on the system hard drive. To this end, a computer system includes browser software provided on a hard drive in a customer system. The HTML content that is pre-installed on the hard drive by a vendor includes identifying information so that when the customer contacts the vendor via the worldwide web, the customer and system are automatically identified to the vendor.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that when the customer contacts the vendor, the customer does not have to locate the system""s serial number or other necessary identifying information and possibly enter the information incorrectly on a form on a web page. The automatic identification of the customer and system to the vendor enables the vendor to provide the customer with information regarding the customer""s specific system or the business segment that the customer services.